NISSAN GUNNING FOR DOUBLE TITLE GLORY AT GT1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON FINALE IN ARGENTINA

11.03.2011

, Lago Potrero de los Funes circuit, San Luis, Argentina

NISSAN GUNNING FOR DOUBLE TITLE GLORY AT GT1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON FINALE IN ARGENTINA

JRM Racing in strong contention for both Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships at stunning San Luis

Nissan will be heading to Argentina for the tenth and final round of this year’s FIA GT1 World Championship this weekend aiming for nothing less than a double-Championship victory, after emerging from September’s tricky race double-header in China with flying colours.

Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr, in the no.23 JRM Racing Nissan GT-R, enter the race weekend at the beautiful and picturesque Lago Potrero de los Funes circuit in San Luis as leaders in the GT1 Drivers’ Championship standings, whilst JRM sit a close second in the Teams’ Championship. With an expectation that the track should be well favoured to the GT-R, and a successful trip to the Far East fresh in the memory, confidence is high amongst the driver ranks.

In the first of the Chinese races, at Ordos International Circuit in Inner Mongolia, Nissan was able to confound pre-race predictions that the GT-Rs would not be suited to the short and twisty track, as the no.22 JRM of Peter Dumbreck and Richard Westbrook claimed second place in both the Qualifying Race and the Championship Race.

A week later, at Beijing’s Goldenport Park Circuit for round nine, the GT-R’s staged a fantastic recovery after a poor Qualifying session in which Jamie Campbell-Walter and David Brabham’s no.21 Sumo Power GT was the highest ranked Nissan in eighth. During the Qualifying Race, the no.23 JRM made up 10 places to finish in fourth, and things got even better in the Championship Race when Krumm and Luhr placed third to maintain their lead in the Drivers’ standings, and the other three GT-Rs all finished within the top eight.

Originally constructed in 1987, and rebuilt in 2008, the Lago Potrero de los Funes circuit is a semi-permanent track that encircles the scenic Lake Potrero de los Funes. At 6.270km (3.896 miles), the circuit is the longest used in this year’s Championship, and also houses the most corners, with 22 – a far cry from the 2.4km (1.5 miles) and 14 turn Goldenport Park Circuit used last time out. The Argentinian track is renowned for being a fast and challenging course with numerous undulations, plenty of high speed corners and many overtaking opportunities – attributes that should, in theory, suit the Nissan GT-R.

Speaking ahead of the race, Michael Krumm, no.23 JRM Racing, said: “San Luis is an exciting track to drive, with all its elevations and incredible scenery. But the walls are hard and the track is slippery, so it’s very easy to make a mistake. We can prepare well this year, as we have data from last year, so there are no surprises coming this time round. Watching last year’s races is also very helpful, particularly the on-board videos of course.

“We’ve had a fantastic year so far, with three Championship Race victories, but nevertheless it would be nice to win another one – especially this one! I think the GT-R should be very competitive at this circuit and we will do everything to achieve our goal of the Teams’ and Drivers’ titles. Even though we are carrying 30kg of success ballast, if we get everything perfect, then we should have every chance.”

Michael’s team-mate, Lucas Luhr, added: “This will be the first time I have been to the San Luis circuit, so I have looking at a lot of on-board video from last year.

“This is the last race of the season and we are leading the Championship, so my goal is to be at the front in qualifying, race one and, of course, race two. We will do everything we possibly can to make sure we end the season as the Champions!”

Notes to editors:

  • Lago Potrero de los Funes circuit race timings
  • Qualifying Race: 13.45-14.45pm (ART), Saturday 5th November
  • Championship Race: 13.45-14.45pm (ART), Sunday 6th November
  • Races can be followed live at http://www.gt1world.com/gt1tv

2011 Nissan drivers

Sumo Power GT
Nissan GT-R No.20: Nick Catsburg (NL) Enrique Bernoldi (Bra)
Nissan GT-R No.21: Jamie Campbell-Walter (GB) David Brabham (Aus)

JRM Racing
Nissan GT-R No.22: Peter Dumbreck (GB) Richard Westbrook (GB)
Nissan GT-R No.23: Michael Krumm (Ger) Lucas Luhr (Ger)


2011 Schedule

25-26 March Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, UAE
8-10 April Zolder, Belgium
6-8 May Algarve, Portugal
13-15 May Sachsenring, Germany
3-5 June Silverstone, UK
1-3 July Navarra, Spain
15-17 July Paul Ricard HTTT, France
2-4 September Ordos, China
9-10 September Beijing, China
4-6 November San Luis, Argentina


Current standings after round 9 (Beijing Championship Race) – Nissan drivers/teams in CAPITALS

Drivers’ Championship

Position

Driver names

Nationalities

Car no.

Team

Car

Points

1

MICHAEL KRUMM/ LUCAS LUHR

GERMANY/ GERMANY

23

JRM RACING

NISSAN GT-R

131

2

Stefan Mucke/ Darren Turner

Germany/ Britain

8

Young Driver AMR

Aston Martin DBR9

120

3=

Markus Winkelhock/ Marc Basseng

Germany/ Germany

38

All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport

Lamborghini Murcielago RS-V

101

3=

Andrea Piccini/ Christian Hohenadel

Italy/ Germany

4

Hexis AMR

Aston Martin DBR9

101

5

Tomas Enge/ Alex Muller

Czech Republic/ Germany

7

Young Driver AMR

Aston Martin DBR9

100

6

Maxime Martin

Belgium

41

Marc VDS Racing Team

Ford GT Matech

98

7

Clivio Piccione/ Stef Dusseldorp

Monaco/ Netherlands

3

Hexis AMR

Aston Martin DBR9

80

8

Dominic Schwager/Nicky Pastorelli

Germany/Italy

37

All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport

Lamborghini Murcielago RS-V

76

9

JAMIE CAMPBELL-WALTER/ DAVID BRABHAM

BRITAIN/ AUSTRALIA

21

SUMO POWER GT

NISSAN GT-R

75

10

PETER DUMBRECK/ RICHARD WESTBROOK

BRITAIN/ BRITAIN

22

JRM RACING

NISSAN GT-R

74

11

Frederic Makowiecki

France

41

Marc VDS Racing Team

Ford GT Matech

69

12

ENRIQUE BERNOLDI

BRAZIL

20

SUMO POWER GT

NISSAN GT-R

49

13

Mike Hezemans

Netherlands

11

Exim Bank Team China

Corvette Z06

46

14

NICK CATSBURG

NETHERLANDS

20

SUMO POWER GT

NISSAN GT-R

43

 

Teams’ Championship 

Position

Team name

Team nationality

Car

Points

1

Young Driver AMR

Germany

Aston Martin DBR9

224

2

JRM RACING

GREAT BRITAIN

NISSAN GT-R

216

3

Hexis AMR

France

Aston Martin DBR9

195

4

All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport

Germany

Lamborghini Murcielago RS-V

182

5

SUMO POWER GT

GREAT BRITAIN

NISSAN GT-R

131

6

Marc VDS Racing Team

Belgium

Ford GT Matech

112

7

Swiss Racing Team

Switzerland

Lamborghini Murcielago RS-V

32

8

Belgian Racing

Belgium

Ford GT Matech

17

Media Contacts:

Richard Wisniewski
rwisniewski@prismteam.com
+44 (0)20 7711 6876
Mob: +44 (0) 7557 203 650

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